We are calling on the global research community to apply for a major new funding initiative aimed at harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to transform cardiovascular healthcare.
In a new editorial published in the European Heart Journal (EHJ), BHF leaders say the field is only beginning to realise the potential of AI, describing the sector as being 'in the foothills of an AI revolution'.
We have launched our inaugural Cardiovascular Grand Challenge competition, which will award at least one research grant of up to £10 million to ambitious, multidisciplinary teams working on the theme of 'AI-powered transformation in cardiovascular health – from discovery to clinical practice'.
The Grand Challenge is designed to catalyse large-scale collaborations that go beyond conventional research programs, bringing together expertise from across academia, healthcare, and industry.
Writing in the EHJ, Professor Bryan Williams, our Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, and Professor Metin Avkiran, our Director of International Partnerships & Special Programmes, outline our hopes for the programme:
“We aim to empower a transformative leap forward in harnessing the power of AI for the benefit of people with or at risk of cardiovascular disease. We believe that the international research community will rise to this challenge and combine forces with UK colleagues to develop and propose inspirational research programmes that have the potential to deliver global impact.”
They describe how rapid advances in AI-enabled technologies, combined with expanding biomedical data, present unprecedented opportunities to improve how cardiovascular diseases are understood, diagnosed and treated.
Untapped potential
Commenting on the programme, Professor Williams said:
“Cardiovascular disease remains the world’s biggest killer, accounting for 1 in 3 of all deaths. It is estimated that 1 in 12 people are living with cardiovascular disease globally and many more are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease in their lifetime. We have made astounding progress in preventing and treating these conditions, it has been one of the great successes of modern medicine, but to go further, we must take full advantage of AI and new technologies.
“AI has already demonstrated impact across cardiovascular medicine, from identifying disease mechanisms, to predicting risk and improving diagnosis, but its full potential remains largely untapped. This programme is a commitment to the next big idea to push life-saving research forward and produce a real impact for patients.”
The competition is open to UK-led teams in partnership with leading international researchers and organisations. We are urging researchers across disciplines, including biomedical science, engineering, data science and clinical research, to come together and apply.
Applications for Cardiovascular Grand Challenge funding must meet the following criteria:
- Timely and ambitious proposals that utilise state-of-the-art expertise and technologies that can deliver a bold leap forward.
- A clear path to impact with defined milestones, as well as demonstrating familiarity with the regulatory requirements for clinical implementation and outlining how these will be met.
- Led by an outstanding, multi-disciplinary team with a track record of delivering large-scale research programmes, and the ability to engage partners from multiple fields and sectors.
- Able to leverage support through matched funding and in-kind contributions from partnering academic institutions, commercial and industrial organisations, and/or other funders.
- Involvement of patients and people with lived experience of cardiovascular disease, both in the development of their proposal and throughout the life of the research programme.
- Robust management and governance structures and processes that adhere to BHF equality, diversity and inclusion principles and provide a strong foundation for successful delivery.
The scheme is open for outline applications now, with a deadline of August 2026.
Find out more and apply here
